Hi guys,

My brother bought a 2wd 85 Ranger with the 2.0l and 5 speed.

He keeps popping the fuse that runs to the starter soleniod. I live in NH and he lives in Texas so I cant help him out to trouble shoot it.

Any ideas of what may be going on? He said the wire with the fuseable link gets hot too before the fuse pops. Sometimes it will go days without popping sometimes 5 times a day. When it pops he loses all power to everything, including headlights.

Please help me so I can tell him what to do and what to check. Thanks!!!

 

There are six fuse links on the starter relay post that are hot at all times, if you have the trailer kit. There are 4 if you have power windows. Which one is getting hot?
I think there should be:
a blue one for electronic engine control
a red one for more electronic engine control
a red one for power windows
a black with orange stripe for the alternator output to charge the battery and feed all other circuits.
The black/orange is junctioned with an orange that feeds the ignition switch, and it is directly fed into the headlight switch on the dash and then to the dimmer switch in the steering column.

I don't know which link is getting overheated, and the headlights are circuit breaker protected, or are supposed to be. The circuit breaker is built into the back of the headlight switch.
I cannot find any fuse that would make everything go dead. There are 3 circuit breakers in the fuse box. Windshield wiper/washer - 6A, power windows - 20A and lumbar seat - 30A, optional. There's no 'biggie' fuse there that can blow and lose all power, so I cannot help with that.
I got all this out of the EVTM - electric vacuum trouble shooting manual. It is a gold mine of information, and you can find them on eBay for less than $20 I've heard.
If he has more details, post them and I'll see what I can find.
tom

 

Thanks for your reply. Ill give my rother the info and see what he says.